Sunderland manager Steve Bruce ready for big club challenge

07 June 2009 11:58

Bruce took over at Sunderland this week, moving from Wigan and capping a managerial career that has so far taken in stops in the Championship and League One.
Now he believes he is ready to meet the high expectations of Sunderland's large fanbase and wealthy new owner Ellis Short.
"It doesn't frighten me," he told the BBC. "I think it's the right time for me. I've done 10 years and in my early days it was very, very difficult when it wasn't quite what was written
in the brochure and I struggled with that.
"But over the years I've been able to get a bit of experience and I think this is the right time for me to take on this challenge. I've done over 500 games now so it's the right time.
"I know how difficult it is, especially in the Premier League, and I do believe you become better with experience so that will stand me in good stead."
Bruce admitted that it would be a step up to work in front of the packed stands of the Stadium of Light, particularly having been used to the half-empty JJB Stadium, but he does not expect the job to be all that different.
"You've got to manage people," he said. "You can have big stadiums and big support, but it's what goes over the white line for you and at Wigan, particularly before Christmas and we had to break the team up, we might not have had the biggest support or the biggest of stadiums or training grounds, but my God we had unbelievably good team and that's what I want to create again."